A DMM (disciple-making movement) is a new and exciting strategy for reaching people with the Gospel.
Traditional Missions
Traditionally, a missionary would be responsible for going out into their community to evangelize daily, disciple as many people as they could, start churches, and pray something would stick.
It put a lot of pressure on the missionary, who was solely responsible for the spiritual well-being of all their disciples. It also severely limited the reach of the Gospel because it could only travel as fast as the missionary could!
The DMM Approach
DMMs, however, can move much more quickly because it removes the missionary as the sole disciple-maker.
With a DMM, a missionary finds a Person of Peace in their community. They start a group with the Person of Peace and their friends and family. These groups are self-led (meaning the missionary does not need to be involved regularly) through Discovery Bible Studies, where the group members are constantly encouraged to share what they’re learning with their own friends and family.
Eventually, each group member will go out and start their own group, then each of those members will start their own groups, and the cycle continues, multiplying the number of disciples exponentially.
With this strategy, thousands of people could be reached in months, something that would have seemed impossible to one missionary under the old system!
(It’s important to note that not each DMM starts or progresses the same way. These movements tend to be messy and can look different depending on the culture and country of implementation. This is, however, the textbook structure for DMMs.)
Needless to say, God is doing big things through DMMs!
Do DMMS work?
In short, YES!
DMMs have proven to be extremely effective across the globe. Team Expansion started implementing DMM principles in 2014 and has seen incredible results.
From 2003 to 2014, our attendance at Team Expansion planted churches grew by 10,000. Then from 2014 to 2017 it grew another 10,000! God did in 3 years what took 11 years before DMMs.
The number of churches and groups started from 2014 to 2017 was 4 times faster than the previous years. And the number of baptisms more than quadrupled! In 2018, we saw the momentum continue, with our best stats ever.
How can I be involved?
DMM principles aren’t just for overseas missions! We’ve also seen huge successes in our local communities. So how can you get involved?
Zúme
Zúme Training is an on-line and in-life learning experience designed for small groups who follow Jesus to learn how to obey His Great Commission and make disciples who multiply. This is a training you can do with your family or a church group and can be completed from your own couch! Learn more about how to take Zúme course.
Give
Training missionaries in DMM principles can be expensive. It costs about $1,000 to train one missionary in these strategies. You can be a part of the movement that reaches the further corners of the earth with a simple gift. Will you join us?
More Disciples
More Disciples is a 30-day disciple making challenge that anyone can participate in! Spend the next month learning disciple-making principles and how to implement those in your own community. Start the 30-day challenge here.
Jonathan Training
Jonathan Training is a DMM strategy course specifically designed for people who want to use DMM principles in ministry and overseas. Sign up for a Jonathan Training course.
Learn More
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